(359426) Lacks Main-belt Asteroid
Discovered on 10 June 2010 by WISE at WISE.
Henrietta Lacks (1920-1951) was an American woman whose cancer cells, taken without her knowledge, became one of the most important tools in medicine. Her cells were used to develop the polio vaccine and other medical advances. Her story serves as a powerful symbol of the importance of informed consent in science.Naming citation (MPC batch dated 2017-03-12), IAU / Minor Planet Center, via NASA/JPL
Where Lacks is today
Seen from above the solar system on 2026-10-14: Lacks is 3.02 au from the Sun and 3.19 au from Earth. Computed from JPL's orbital elements.
Facts
| Number | 359426 |
| Provisional designation | 2010 LA71 |
| Orbit class | Main-belt Asteroid |
| Diameter | 2.75 km (#15,752 largest of 17,440 named asteroids with a measured size) |
| Albedo | 0.0700 |
| Absolute magnitude (H) | 16.33 |
| Orbital period | 5.63 years |
| Semi-major axis | 3.17 au |
| Perihelion – aphelion | 2.85 – 3.48 au |
| Eccentricity | 0.0990 |
| Inclination | 8.03° |
| Closest distance between its orbit and Earth's (MOID) | 1.86 au |
Data: NASA/JPL Small-Body Database and the IAU Minor Planet Center.